I observed some cool stuff today and since there were several others that seemed interested in the topic too, I thought I would share. Since the previous social aggression thread, I have had a couple conversations with my expert friends, read articles, and have been observing carefully.

Since we started protection work with Grizzly last week I can observe some of this in action.

First is the difference between active aggression and defensive aggression. Grizz has both. At first, he was very suspicious of the handler. He backed up to stand next to me, was unsure. Then the helper advanced and he ran to the end of the line barking a nice deep bark. Teeth showing posturing... The helper was working on confidence building and after a short time there was a visible difference. Grizz was now confidently trotting to the end of the line, all stress signs decreased and he showed a lot of bravado. The barking and posturing was similar, but the ear set was different, and in general, he exuded confidence and you could tell when the switch happened from defense to active aggression, he started having FUN. I have sen dogs that stay in defense and they never look like they enjoy what they are doing.

Next was the seeing some good helper work and clearly showing how the posture and threat make a difference to a dog who is really serious. At one point I was so slack jawed that I forgot to circle the dog. Without going into all the detail of why, the helper was posturing and being the "bad guy" then he shut down. Relaxed avoided eye contact and became neutral. Grizz went from aggression to immediate calm, threat gone, aggression gone. Similarly, at the end of the session, he walked calmly off the field and stood calmly to have his harness removed, even politely sniffed a club member on the way by. Grizz is a good stable dog he reacts when there is a treat but calmed immediately when the threat was gone. I just had in my mind that a dog with good aggression would take a while to transition like a dog that is up in prey. The difference was very interesting. This also provided a big insight for me into the theatrics of a good helper and the role this plays in building confidence in a young dog. Very cool.

Sounds like Grizzly is doing great and you are both enjoying it!It s wonderful to see our dogs do what they are born and bred to do

Amy I am seeing this exact same thing in Havoc now. First 3 times he was whiny and tried to jump on me, he did not know what to do. Last 3 times it seems to have clicked and we had a great session 2 weeks ago and a better one yesterday. He knows what the harness means and he started happy barking when he got the harness on. As soon as the helper came out from behind the blind he started actively barking. His confidence is definitely up. No whining at all today.

He had such a great time he carried off the sleeve and wanted to take it in the car with him, would not let go of it.

After our turn I went back to the field and returned the sleeve and watch another dog and realized I was hearing barking in the parking area behind me. Only one dog barking. I asked whose dog is that, another helper who was getting ready to work a few dogs said, 'Ummmm--- yours?" Yep it was Havoc barking like a fool. So I asked that helper what he thought and he said he has it and is making great progress, nice dog! I was pretty happy.

It is still mostly prey but it is getting there. He also started whining in the car and getting happy as soon as we turned into the park.

Glad things are going better for you guys.

Very interesting observations. Thanks for posting them!